jMonkeyEngine 3.0 Beginner's Guide

LEET skillz – learn from the pros

Using physics everywhere in a game sounds like a cool idea, but this feature is easily overused. Although physics controls are "put to sleep" while they don't move, the complexity of a world built solely out of dynamic physics controls exceeds your computer's capabilities quite fast.

But other game developers use physics all the time, so why can't you? Their physics simulation is so awesome that whole buildings break apart in real time! Actually, no. Don't let them fool you. Professional video games simply use a clever mix of physics, non-physical kinematics, and visual effects to give you the illusion of a fully physical world.

Unless players are walking around in it, a scene element has no collision shape at all. ...